Performance Success: Performing Your Best Under Pressure.

by Don Greene, Ph.D. Routledge Press, (29 W. 35th St., New York, NY 10001), 2002. 149 pp., $16.95.

This book represents a methodical approach to every musician's greatest challenge: the seemingly insurmountable pressure of performance.

Of particular interest is Don Greene's unique background. Beginning with his childhood hobbies of gymnastics and diving, he became interested in performance stress and how it determines performance outcome. After completing school at West Point, he went through special paratrooper and commando training, eventually selected for the Green Berets. His military experience and training uniquely equipped him with certain insights and techniques for performance and competition under stress. During his doctoral studies in psychology, he applied these insights and techniques to the performance of the San Diego Police SWAT team in basic maneuvers. The scope of his study then expanded to the Olympic diving team, the World Championship swimming team and even professional golfers.

His introduction to the musical world began with a call for help from a golfing client, Ed Castilano, who just happened to be the principal bassist with the Syracuse Symphony. Castilano quickly saw that the lessons he learned while working on his putting were directly applicable to his musical performance. Together, they worked to translate Greene's work into "musical language," which he has used in a number of lecture, master class and individual coaching settings. He has worked with groups and individuals at the Juilliard School, the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, the OperaWorks Intensive Program in Los Angeles and with various individuals--many of them well-known performers--to develop his program and assist clients in their pursuit of successful performance techniques.

Performance Success represents Greene's program in text form. It begins with an Artist's Performance Survey, consisting of 100 statements to be rated on a scale of one to five (one=untrue for you ... five=very true for you). Groups of questions are to be answered while imagining oneself in a specific setting: rehearsing/performing, warming up before performing, performing and experiencing problems and finishing a performance after resolving problems. The test may be taken and scored manually or completed and scored automatically at Greene's website, www.dongreene.com. This test, combined with a performance tape (audio or video) gives one a clear "before" picture of his or her performance tendencies.

Greene discusses, in detail, exactly what stress is and how it may manifest itself physically. He describes the "Seven Essential Skills for Optimal Performance": determination, poise, mental outlook, emotional approach, attention, concentration and resilience, and explains what the related scores from the self-test reveal about one's performance tendencies. He clarifies how each of these skills works, how they work in combination and how they may be improved through a variety of exercises and strategies: goal-setting, self-reward, a strategy called "centering," self-talk and mental rehearsal, to mention a few.

The meat of the book functions as a workbook. There are many spaces for journaling goals, logging "centering" practice and mental rehearsals, writing in self-talk and positive statements, and tracking progress. It is peppered with pictures and diagrams to illustrate specific ideas, and with appropriate, encouraging quotes by the likes of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Horace, Johann von Goethe, Abraham Maslow, Shakespeare, John F. Kennedy, Sir Winston Churchill--even Muhammad Ali, Clint Eastwood, Billy Joel and Mae West.

After working through each skill area, a second tape is made for evaluation and new goal-setting. A final chapter entitled "The Countdown" is designed to work as a three-week training plan in preparation for a performance. It is complete with a calendar, schedule of events and daily task log. His prescription for preparation includes a written contract of commitment, daily exercises and drills, two mock performances, rehearsing a pre-performance routine and recovery. He emphasizes personal physical care and trains the musician as an athlete; each day's log includes a space for "amount of sleep last night," "length of naps yesterday," "glasses of water yesterday" and "length of exercise/walk." One must choose a sponsor during the countdown who will play a role in three key points during the process.

As Greene warns in his introduction, this book is not leisure reading. It cannot be "skimmed over" with any expectation of results. One must be committed to careful thought and deliberate change of ideas, behavior and emotion. This book is challenging work if taken seriously--but well worth the endeavor. Reviewed by Ledean Williams, Sharpsburg, Georgia.